Page 12 of Living Legend

“What?” I questioned, trying to look around her at the array of clothes.

Elise looked at me wide eyed, stepping to the side so I could see for myself.

The clothes were a mix of white, yellows, and various colors of the rainbow -- nothing either of us would be caught dead in on a regular basis.

“Holy Hell.”

Elise stomped her feet as she made her way to the entrance. “I would rather an Enchanter strike me fucking dead than wear that shit.”

She forcefully grabbed the handle and ripped open the door, letting it slam against the wall. The two sentries guarding the door looked at her skeptically, a bit in shock -- she still had only her bra and shorts on. Elise placed her palms on either side of the frame and leaned in towards the sentries. “If either of you thinks I’m wearing anything in there, you are out of your damn mind. I suggest you go find your leader and find me something in black.”

I knew her eyes had turned black, just as I knew her voice was reverberating through their skulls. The sentries tried to hold their positions, but their shoulders shook, their bodies wavering.

Elise shut the door and shook her whole body, as if to regain control after using some dark power, her tattoo pulsing on her neck. She was so good at being the boss of her own power. Lilith may have been the one to teach me, but Elise was the one who taught me how to regain my sense of self when it was all said and done.

“Was that really necessary?” I asked.

“Yes.”

The sentries guarding our door gave us no real warning when we needed to be awake. A courteous wakeup call with a side of breakfast in bed? No. Elise and I woke up to a stark bright light from the wide, three panel window and a pounding at our door. Elise had flung a series of curse words towards whoever was on the other side, but eventually made her way out of bed. I had no idea if she’d fallen asleep last night, but I hadn’t been able to relax the whole night. We’d woken to an entirely different closet, which suited both of our styles. Fewer rainbows and more neutrals. A point to the angels on that one.

I opened the door to two different guards, who seemed a little more prepared for the job of wrangling two demons than the last two. We both raised our wrists with the intention of being handcuffed again; they obliged and grabbed our shoulders, pushing us along. Instead of walking back the way we came, they had us walking towards the end of the hall, where a singular wooden door greeted us. It had a handle shaped like a wing, just like the gates outside. The originality in this place wasastonishing. We were shuffled down two flights of stairs and through another door, where a silver brick interior met my eyes. It smelled like food, and I could hear chattering. If I remembered our room assignment correctly, we were on the ground floor of The Skies.

“Do you guys ever get lost in this place?” I questioned, looking up at the sentry to my left. He didn’t even acknowledge me. He didn’t even flinch.

The sentries yanked us through another door that immediately led us outside. The sunlight was almost blinding in Heaven's Gate, almost artificial with how bright it was. The smell of roses and honeysuckle filled my nostrils. I looked around, trying to determine where exactly we were. I leaned forward a bit, tilting my head to both sides, when I zeroed in on the gravel landing and steppingstones. I turned my head up and over the castle-like structure of The Skies and saw the arching gates of the entrance.

I didn’t know much about Heaven's Gate, but I did know that everything centered around The Skies. It was the epicenter, while everything else simply existed. The Skies and the surrounding villages were the main spots, and places like Oculus were overlooked, almost erased entirely from the atlas. Angels wanted touseEnchanters, but they’d rather not be so closely associated with them.

It was pathetic.

“How much fucking longer are we waiting on these pricks?” Elise huffed, agitated.

I felt the gust of wind first, causing my hair to pull away from my face and towards my back. The wind sent a cool breeze towards us, and the grass at my feet bristled back and forth. A perfectly carved shadow moved over me, another one over Elise. We glanced upwards to see two sets of decently hefty wings. The harsh wind settled and slowed, but the breeze seemed swifter as the flapping wings descended, growing closer. One more jolting blast of air hit us before everything went still, the shadows now in the shape of a person.

Two people.

I only noticed the wings at first, white like Ariel’s, soft looking and structured. The feathers were long and broad, their tips were rounded and delicate. The blonde one, Reese, halted in front of Elise, Nicholas in front of me. He had his wings pulled in now, the tops of them sitting above his shoulders.

“Did you really have to make an obnoxious entrance?” Elise asked, the annoyance in her voice obvious.

Reese scoffed. “You can just admit you’re impressed and feel inadequate.”

“Impressed by what exactly?

Reese jutted his wings out to their full extension. The shadow he created covered both Elise and I, plus the sentries who held us.

Elise’s gaze went from one wing tip all the way to the other. She pursed her lips and swished her cheeks from side to side, then let out a small laugh that morphed into an even louder chuckle. “Oh, come on, Blondie. There are better ways to try to prove you have a big dick. The only thing I’m impressed by is your failed attempt.”

I pressed my lips together to try not to laugh. I peeked up at Nicholas to see him trying to hide a laugh as well. He ran a hand through his thick head of dark hair, and I noticed he had a small scar below his eye. I started to wonder how he got it. In the heat of the sun, I noticed his cheeks flushing pink.

“Reese, put them away. We won’t be needing them anyway,” he commanded, his own wings shrinking and vanishing all together. Reese followed suit with a grumble.

I was curious. “How do we get to Oculus from here? I assumed we could just fly there.”

“Ha, like we’re gonna let you use your wings!” Reese exclaimed.

“Scared they're bigger than yours?” Elise countered.

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